Shin Protection Device

ABSTRACT

Disclosed is a shin guard device configured to be secured to a user&#39;s footwear such that a guard aspect of the device is positioned in front of the user&#39;s lower leg. An exemplary embodiment is molded from a relatively thin gauge plastic and includes a lower toe portion, an upper shin guard portion and a fastener device in communication with the lower toe portion. When worn by a user, embodiments of a shin guard device provide for the upper shin guard portion to “float” or “stand” out ahead of the user&#39;s lower leg. By floating the upper shin guard portion out ahead of a user&#39;s lower leg, the lower leg may be protected from flying debris without hindering the user&#39;s mobility or causing undue discomfort.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

Priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) is claimed to the U.S. provisional application entitled “SHIN PROTECTION DEVICE,” filed on Sep. 13, 2012 and assigned application Ser. No. 61/700,654, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND

The present invention relates to safety and protection equipment and, more particularly, to a shin guard device for protecting the lower leg of a user from various hazards. Landscaping activities such as “weed eating” with a rotary trimmer can wreak havoc on a landscaper's lower leg. As a rotary trimmer does its job, grass and weed debris, as well as small rocks and sticks, can be slung at a high velocity toward the landscaper's leg. For this reason, an experienced landscaper will often wear pants, especially if he's planning on running a trimmer for any length of time.

One way for a landscaper to combat the problem of his legs getting banged up while weed eating, in addition to or in lieu of wearing pants, is to use shin guard devices. Common shin guard devices known in the art are designed to be strapped to the user's lower leg and can be fitted over pant legs or even on bare legs if the user is wearing shorts. Known shin guards often include padding for added comfort; however, by virtue of being worn snug against the user's leg, known shin guard devices are often uncomfortable and hot to wear. Moreover, padded shin guards strapped to a user's leg can soak up the user's sweat, making the shin guards unsanitary and less desirable to use for an extended period of time. Even further, shin guard systems known in the art are often expensive due to the complexity of their construction.

Therefore, what is needed in the art is a shin guard device that can address the above needs in the art, as well as other needs in the art, through a design that does not require a user to strap the shin guard device around his lower leg.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Various embodiments, aspects and features of the present invention encompass a shin guard device configured to be secured to a user's footwear such that a shield or guard aspect of the device is positioned in front of the user's lower leg. An exemplary embodiment is molded from a relatively thin gauge plastic in a single piece and includes a lower toe portion, an upper shin guard portion and a fastener device in communication with the lower toe portion. A user may fit the lower toe portion over the toe of his footwear and secure the embodiment to his person by using the fastener device. Advantageously, the fastener device in certain embodiments secures the lower toe portion of the embodiment to the user's footwear, thereby allowing the upper shin guard portion to “float” or “stand” out ahead of the user's shin. As one of ordinary skill in the art of using shin guard systems would understand, by floating the upper shin guard portion out ahead of a user's lower leg, the lower leg may be protected from flying debris without hindering the user's mobility or causing undue discomfort.

Embodiments of a shin guard device according to the invention are not limited to the exemplary aspects and features described herein. Certain embodiments may include additional features, or different features, while other embodiments include alternative features. As a way of example, and not limitation, it is envisioned that some embodiments of a shin guard device may be configured to include side wing aspects for protecting the sides of a user's lower leg, reinforcement aspects to provide structural rigidity, aesthetic features such as raised lettering, etc. Moreover, while some embodiments of a shin guard device according to the invention may be constructed via thermoforming of a plastic, embodiments are not limited by materials of construction as it is envisioned that a shin guard device may be constructed from any suitable material or combination of materials that may occur to one of ordinary skill.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING

In the Figures, like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout the various views unless otherwise indicated. For reference numerals with letter character designations such as “102A” or “102B”, the letter character designations may differentiate two like parts or elements present in the same Figure. Letter character designations for reference numerals may be omitted when it is intended that a reference numeral to encompass all parts having the same reference numeral in all Figures.

FIG. 1 is a front view of a pair of exemplary shin guard devices according to one embodiment of the invention, shown as worn by a user.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an exemplary shin guard device according to the FIG. 1 embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a side view of an exemplary shin guard device according to the FIG. 1 embodiment, shown as worn by a user.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 is a front view of a pair of exemplary shin guard devices 100 according to one embodiment of the invention, shown as worn by a user 205. The lower toe portions 105 of each device 100 can be fitted over a user's footwear such that the fastener devices 110 secure the entire device to the user's person. Once secured, the upper shin guard portions 115 are positioned in front of the user's lower legs, i e shins, thereby providing protection from flying debris.

In the exemplary FIG. 1 embodiment, outer side wing aspects 120 extend off the outer side of each upper shin guard portion 115 to provide a degree of lateral protection to the outsides of the user's lower legs. Similarly, inner side wing aspects 121 extend off the side off the inner side of each upper shin guard portion 115 to provide a degree of lateral protection to the insides of the user's lower legs. Advantageously, the side wing aspects 120, 121 of the exemplary embodiment 100 provide an extended degree of protection to the user 205 from flying debris over and above what is provided by the portion 115. Knee relief aspects 125 also extend from the upper end of the upper shin guard portions 115 to provide for better user mobility and protect from debris flying up toward the user's upper body. It is envisioned that such side wing 120, 121 and knee relief 125 aspects may vary in shape to provide more or less protection to a user 205. Moreover, it is envisioned that embodiments in general may vary in shape and size to better accommodate given users and/or applications.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an exemplary shin guard device 100R according to the FIG. 1 embodiment. It is envisioned that the addition of dimple features, or other topographical features, can provide additional structural rigidity to a shin guard device. That is, it is envisioned that topographical features, raised features, recessed features and the like may be included in given embodiments to provide structural rigidity or aesthetically pleasing appearance. For example, in the exemplary embodiment 100, rib features 135 can be seen extending from the toe portion 105R up into the lower part of upper shin guard portion 115R at the junction area. As one of ordinary skill in the art would understand, the transition/junction area between the toe portion 105R and upper shin guard portion 115R may represent a high stress area as the device is flexed during use. The addition of topographical features, such as exemplary ribs 135 may provide an added degree of structural rigidity to a given embodiment, although such features are not required in all embodiments.

Additionally, raised features 140F and 140S can be seen in the FIG. 2 illustration. Raised features in the form of long ridges 140F extending vertically along the front of upper shin guard portion 115R of the embodiment can be seen. Similarly, raised features in the form of long ridges 140S extending vertically along the outer side wing 120R can be seen. It is envisioned that raised and/or recessed features such as ridges 140S, 140F may be included in some embodiments for the purpose of adding structural rigidity or for forming a decorative shape such as, but not limited to, a logo, symbol, etc.

Also in the FIG. 2 illustration, a fastener 110R in the form of an elasticized band can be seen. It is envisioned that any suitable means for securing a shin guard device 100 to a user's shoe or foot may be utilized and, as such, it will be understood that embodiments of a shin guard device 100 are not limited to include fastener means in the form of elasticized bands. For example, it is envisioned that buckles, belt straps, hook and loop patches (i.e. VELCRO®) on the topside of shoe toe and underside of a shin guard toe portion 105R (not shown), and the like may be used.

FIG. 3 is a side view of an exemplary shin guard device 100L according to the FIG. 1 embodiment 100, shown as worn by a user 205. From the FIG. 3 illustration, it can be seen that the exemplary embodiment 100L is anchored near the toe of the user's footwear 105, advantageously positioning the shin guard device 100L away from the user's leg. Notably, from the FIG. 3 illustration, it can be seen that the upper shin guard portion 115L of the embodiment stands out ahead of the user's lower leg, as illustrated by gap 145. Advantageously, by being positioned out ahead of the user's leg, the embodiment does not require straps around the user's leg or otherwise cause the user discomfort.

Shin protection devices have been described using detailed descriptions of embodiments thereof that are provided by way of example and are not intended to limit the scope of the disclosure. The described embodiments comprise different features, not all of which are required in all embodiments of a shin protection device. Some embodiments of a shin protection device utilize only some of the features or possible combinations of the features. Variations of embodiments of a shin protection device that are described and embodiments of a shin protection device comprising different combinations of features noted in the described embodiments will occur to persons of the art.

It will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that shin protection devices that fall within the scope of this disclosure are not limited by what has been particularly shown and described herein above. Rather, the scope of a shin protection device is defined by the claims that follow. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A shin guard device for protecting the lower leg of a user from flying debris, the shin guard device comprising: a toe portion; and an upper shin guard portion; wherein: the toe portion and the upper shin guard portion are integral to each other and reside in substantially perpendicular planes; the toe portion is configured to interface with the top of the user's footwear; and the upper shin guard portion is positioned such that a gap exists between the backside of the upper shin guard portion and the front of the user's lower leg.
 2. The shin guard device of claim 1, further comprising: an outer side wing aspect integral to the upper shin guard portion, wherein the outer side wing aspect is positioned relative to the upper shin guard portion such that a gap exists between the backside of the outer side wing aspect and the outside of the user's lower leg.
 3. The shin guard device of claim 2, further comprising one or more raised features on the outside of the outer side wing aspect.
 4. The shin guard device of claim 3, wherein the one or more raised features form a logo.
 5. The shin guard device of claim 1, further comprising: an inner side wing aspect integral to the upper shin guard portion, wherein the inner side wing aspect is positioned relative to the upper shin guard portion such that a gap exists between the backside of the inner side wing aspect and the inside of the user's lower leg.
 6. The shin guard device of claim 5, further comprising one or more raised features on the outside of the inner side wing aspect.
 7. The shin guard device of claim 6, wherein the one or more raised features form a logo.
 8. The shin guard device of claim 1, further comprising one or more raised features on the front of the upper shin guard portion.
 9. The shin guard device of claim 8, wherein the one or more raised features form a logo.
 10. The shin guard device of claim 1, further comprising: one or more rib features for providing structural rigidity at a point of intersection between the toe portion and the upper shin guard portion.
 11. The shin guard device of claim 1, further comprising a knee relief aspect integral to the upper shin guard portion, wherein the knee relief aspect is positioned at the top of the upper shin guard portion and extends out in front of the upper shin guard portion.
 12. The shin guard device of claim 1, further comprising a fastener device for securing the shin guard device to the user.
 13. The shin guard device of claim 12, wherein the fastener device comprises an elastic band.
 14. The shin guard device of claim 12, wherein the fastener device comprises a strap and buckle.
 15. The shin guard device of claim 12, wherein the fastener device comprises hook and loop patches of material. 